Top 4 ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve

Marie Westmoreland

When it to comes to celebrating New Year’s Eve, deciding what to do can be a challenge.

So we have come up with some ideas of how to see in 2016, whether you want to entertain the family, dine in style, or party until the early hours.

End the year by the seaside at Sunderland’s award-winning New Year’s Eve celebration and fireworks spectacular.

The early-evening event, funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, will see Cliffe Park, Seaburn, play host to awe-inspiring fire acts, children’s fairground rides and a range of delicious catering delights.

From 4.30pm to 6pm there’ll be fiery fun for all the family, and for those who’d like to keep the party going a little longer, the city centre will host a fireworks display at midnight, which can be best viewed from Keel Square.

If a night of elusive mystery and playful intrigue sounds like your idea of fun, The Quality Hotel’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, Manhattan Style, could be for you.

A cosmopolitan vibe, masked dancers and a four-course meal, followed by live music, can be enjoyed from 7pm. And a live countdown to midnight will commence before a fireworks display marks the start of 2016.

Scary monsters and dancing bears will be roaming around Newcastle’s city centre as part of Newcastle’s Winter Carnival Parade, which is sure to thrill families.

Expect to see monsters, a cauldron of fire, and dancing bears with giant claws stalking the streets of Newcastle, as part of the Wild Beasts and Dark Streets event.

From 5pm, beastly creatures will swarm around the Monument, as part of the carnival performance, and torch-bearers will lead the parade, as it makes its way to Newcastle Civic Centre via Northumberland Street, from 5.15pm.

The exciting spectacular, which will feature fire and firecrackers, will end with a firework finale at Newcastle Civic Centre, from 6pm. It’s free to attend, with no wristbands or tickets required.

For those who want to stay out til the clock strikes midnight, head down to the Quayside for one of the best views of the city’s midnight fireworks display and celebrate the start of 2016 with a bang.

For a round-the-world experience this New Year’s Eve, three popular venues in the heart of Newcastle are joining forces to bring you A Tale of Three Cities.